Afghanistan registered a 75-run win against Netherlands in the third ODI to sweep the series but things became worse for the Dutch after they were penalized five runs for ball-tampering.
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The third ODI between Afghanistan and Netherlands in Doha witnessed an ugly incident in the 31st over of the Afghan innings. Brandon Glover was bowling the over when the umpires decided to check the ball. They found that the condition of the ball was altered. The umpires had a chat with the Netherlands captain and they found the team guilty of ball-tampering. The umpires then gave five penalty runs to Afghanistan, with the Netherlands not disputing the claim.
According to law 41.3 in the ICC Playing Conditions, it states, “If the umpires consider that the condition of the ball has been unfairly changed by a member or members of either side, they shall ask the captain of the opposing side if he/she would like the ball to be replaced. Regardless of whether a replacement ball has been chosen to be used, the bowler’s end umpire shall award five penalty runs to the opposing side. If appropriate, inform the batters at the wicket and the captain of the fielding side that the ball has been changed and the reason for their action.”
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Afghanistan chose to bat but they immediately lost wicketkeeper Rahmanullah Gurbaz cheaply for 12. But, Riaz Hassan and Rahmat Shah stitched a solid stand to revive Afghanistan. Riaz Hassan reached his fifty while Rahmat was approaching a milestone. However, as soon as Riaz Hassan reached fifty, he was dismissed by Saqib Zulfiqar. Rahmat followed suit as he was dismissed for 48 by Glover in the 33rd over.
Hashmatullah Shahidi and Najibullah Zadran stitched a solid 63-run stand. However, Aryan Dutt broke the stand but Zadran continued the good work. He blasted 71 off just 59 balls with eight fours and three sixes. Combined with late contributions from Azmatullah Omarzai and Rashid Khan, Afghanistan went past 250 to end on 254/5 in 50 overs.
The Netherlands began the chase of 255 in grand fashion. Colin Ackermann and Scott Edwards shared an opening partnership of 103 in just 23 overs. The asking and scoring rate was in check with the Netherlands aiming to avoid the whitewash. But, Edwards was trapped by Qais Ahmed after he had crossed his fifty.
Ackermann looked to reach his century and looked good for a century but wickets tumbled. The Netherlands lost skipper Pieter Seelar and Boris Gorlee cheaply. Bas de Leede was dismissed by Mujeeb Ur Rahman but Netherlands’ hopes were all extinguished by Rashid Khan. The Afghan legend picked up Ackermann for 81 as the Netherlands collapsed in a heap.
The Netherlands lost nine wickets for 76 runs to give Afghanistan a 75-run win. Qais Ahmed was the pick of the bowlers with 3/32 while Rashid Khan picked up 2/37. Afghanistan had won the first and second ODI by 36 and 48 runs to clean sweep the series. They are in the fifth position in the ODI Super League, a tournament that will determine who will qualify for the ICC World Cup in 2023 in India.
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